Moral Code
by Twisted Skys
Summary: Says to never kill or capture a specimen that you did not weaken yourself. Maddie finds Danny Phantom wounded late at night after a hard battle. After she helps him, she finds there is more to him than she ever thought possible. Mother/son bonding!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Danny was so tired. Every muscle felt like it had lead weights attached to them, weighing him down. He couldn't move without pain searing through him from his chest and abdomen. He almost laughed at his misfortune. He was already late for curfew when Skulker came out of no where, sporting what was obviously new tech. Said tech had done a number on the hybrid, leaving his already exhausted body immobile. He couldn't even change back into his human form and go home. He considered calling Sam or Jazz but then realized that his phone had been destroyed last week by Technes.

And so here he sat, too hurt to really move anywhere, too tire to even change, and had no way of calling for help as he bled green ectoplasm all over the grass. At least he had managed to suck Skulker into the thermos before sinking down to the buildings below and finding temporary shelter in the deep shadow on a corner where the street lights couldn't reach him. He was safe as long as no one with searching eyes came walking around. At this time of night, nearly midnight, no one was walking around regardless.

He groaned as he reminded himself of what time it was. His curfew was eleven o'clock. He was in so much trouble. He closed his eyes and rested his head against the brick building behind him. He hoped that if he rested for a little while, he could transform back and go home. There he would suck up his pride and ask Jazz for first aid. He knew she didn't mind but he still felt it was rather demeaning when he had to ask her to stop him from bleeding or straiten out a dislocated limb. At those times, he was glad that ghosts healed ten times faster than a normal human.

As the ghost boy rested, another enemy stalked the streets, looking for the place the ghost had run off to. Maddie Fenton looked down at the ghost tracker in her hands and then back at the street ahead of her. The device said that the ghost was only a few yard up the street. As she grew closer to the spot, she pulled out her ecto-blaster and readied herself for the worst. When she rounded the corner, she was not expecting to see Danny Phantom resting against the apartment building in front of her. His jump suit was torn, pieces missing and exposing pale flesh, his hair hung in his face, preventing her from seeing if was awake or not. But what got her attention the most was the large gash running across his chest and down his torso. One arm was draped over the wound, green ectoplasm oozing from between his fingers.

The huntress powered up the ecto-blaster, aiming it at the ghost boy's alarmingly young face. Briefly she felt sorrowful for the ghost, having had died at such young age. She wondered if his family had died with him or if he was alone. That thought made her falter. What if when this _kid_ had died, he had died without his family? Maybe in a horrible accident, that that was why he insisted that he was trying to protect this town. He was maybe trying to protect his family?

Her musing came to an abrupt stop when the sound of the charging gun brought the boy to his senses again. His green eyes looked subdued and dull as he looked up blurrily at the huntress standing over him. They lit up a little, looking both confused and relieved at the same time. "Mom?"

Maddie gasped, dropping the gun. _Do I look so much like his mother that he mistakes me as her?_ Maddie kneeled down to his level, hesitated for a moment before showing the first act of gentleness toward a ghost as she grasped his face. She was surprised to find that, even though it was too cold to be human, he still created a heat of his own. She lifted his head to look at him but his eyes had already slid shut.

"Phantom? Phantom, wake up." She slapped lightly on his cheek before he started stirring again. It was obvious this time that he recognized her for who she was as he jumped and tried to shuffle away.

"Mmmoooaaaddie!"

Okay, that was puzzling. It sounded like he was about to say 'mom' again but tried to correct himself. He tried to sit up and stand but didn't even get to the first part as he suddenly winced, his face screwing up for a moment. He trembled momentarily before falling back against the building. He sighed, defeated, looking up at her with fear shining in his glowing green eyes. The same color as the ooze creeping out from between his fingers and staining his pristine white gloves.

Maddie moved to his side and carefully pried the hand away. Phantom stiffened but gave no real fight. "W-what are you doing?"

_Did he just stutter…?_ "I'm helping you, you're wounded." She stated the obvious in case he really was too out of it to realize.

"Y-yeah but w-why?"

_He __**did**__ stutter! _"Because it's against our moral code as hunters; never kill or capture a specimen that we did not weaken ourselves. So you got off easy tonight, ghost." Maddie paused, her voice taking a gentler tone. "Besides, I can't bear to see a child hurt like this, even if you are a ghost."

**XXX**

**Yeah, so… This is another experiment I did when I should be sleeping. I have a hard time dealing with people that I did not create. So you will find that I have many OCs in my stories. But I'm going to try something new. This little ficlet will have no obvious OCs besides maybe extras. I don't know if I'm going to continue this or Nightmare. Without my friend here, I don't have anyone to make me finish things. But I'll try.**

**Feed back please, is very much valued.**


	2. Chapter 2

Maddie finished cleaning the wound and carefully wrapped it in a bandage she had gotten out of the Fenton First Aid Kit. She had watched the boy the entire time, wary that it might start attacking any moment. But it remained still and allowed her to do what she needed to. She glanced quickly at its face, seeing that its eyes were closed, she pulled the cloth she had been to clean the ectoplasm up and stuffed the contaminated fabric into the box of first aid equipment, planning to analyze it later.

She then stood and took a step back, still watching the ghost boy. He looked like he was asleep but that was impossible, ghosts can't sleep. _Can they?_ She shook her head and started to walk away. But she only got a few feet when she turned back to the ghost, still leaning limply against the building. There was a long moment of indecision. _It will be fine, it's a ghost. It's probably just faking to be asleep, it just wants me to feel bad for it. But I can't because I know that ghosts don't feel._ She took a few more steps than stopped again. She stood still for a long moment, remembering earlier… _He called me 'mom.' How am I supposed to react to that?_ Maddie sighed, shaking her head. "Alright fine, you win this time," she muttered as walked back over the ghost and picked him up in her arms. It was surprisingly light, but what almost made her drop it was that fact that he was warm and solid, like a human almost. _What am I thinking!? He's not human, he's a ghost. And since when was __**it **__a __**he**__?_ She shook her head again and started the walk home, a ghost cradled carefully in her arms.

**XXX**

Danny woke slowly, reluctantly. He was warm, safe, and comfortable. The pain of last night had leaked away and he had felt like he hadn't rested like this in years. (Well, okay it was only months but still) He stretched luxuriously, the bright sum warming up his stiff muscles. This was pleasant…

Or at least until he remembered what had happened last night before he had passed out. He was in ghost form, his mom coming to patch him up (boy that was change in personality!). And he emphasized on the passing out part. He looked up, surveying the room for the first time. He was, surprisingly, in the living room to his own house. _Crap!_ He looked in the chair in the corner, and sure enough, there was his mom, napping in the recliner. He then looked at his own hand. _Shit, Crap!_ No glove, no suit, no white hair; he was in human form.

He heard his mom groan, as if starting to wake up. He quickly transformed, hoping, preying to any higher deity that he could escape without her catching him. He was about to phase through the window when his hopes were suddenly shattered. "Phantom!" Her harsh bark made him flinch but at the same time sparked new hope. She always talked to him like that, which meant that nothing had changed (hopefully) and she didn't know his secret. _Please, please, please, please…_

"Where are you going?"

"Um… Home?' He was hoping to make it sound confident but it failed, he was too shaken by the obvious close call.

Maddie frowned. "I helped you, now you have to something for me in return."

"As long as it has nothing to do with me dying." He quipped.

Her facial expression didn't change. "Answer three questions and I will let you leave."

"Without a fuss or blazing weapons?"

She shook her head and Danny floated down sit back on the couch. "How old are you?"

"Fourteen." Danny winced a second later, he should have thought a little more before answering her like that. Just because he was his mother in his human form doesn't mean that she was his mother in his ghost form. She furrowed her brows at his reaction to his own answer but decided to brush it off for further study later.

"How did you die?"

Phantom flinched; he didn't like being called dead. It didn't feel right to be called dead. "An accident."

Maddie gasped, but covered it up quickly. She had been right; he was way too young to have suddenly up and died. "What kind of accident?."

Now Phantom seemed reluctant, his hands wringing the blanket that had covered his only a few minutes ago. "My parents… are inventors." He paused again, she wasn't sure if it was he was trying to remember (she briefly remembered that ghosts don't always recall their lives) or if he was trying to think of something that would be a valid lie. Though as she watched him, he seemed to be telling the truth. _What am I thinking, ghost do nothing but lie!_

"I was in there lab one day and one of their inventions went haywire… I guess it killed me."

There was a moment of silence as Maddie digested the information she had just received. "Are your parents alive?"

Phantom seemed to jolt out of his stupor. He glared, though not as hard as he could have, it was almost playful if you looked past the wary suspicion in his eyes. "That's four. The deal was three." Though he reminded her of the deal he remained seated on the couch.

"Okay, you can go."

Phantom looked relieved and confused by her answer but stood from the couch and started flouting toward the front wall again.

"Phantom," he turned to look at her, "you do know that just because I helped you doesn't mean that we're friends."

The reaction her garnered was interesting. First he looked confused, then relieved, and lastly, very sad. He smiled dully at her. "Of course; why would things be any different?" Then he was gone like the wind before she could even answer. Maddie watched the spot he had been for a long moment when she suddenly remember that she had not seen Danny return home last night. Worry creased her face for a moment as she went to call Sam to see if had spent the night there last night.

**XXX**

**A/N: Wow! Thank you to everyone that reviewed and such. I've never had such a positive turnout with any story I had ever written. Thanks to everyone.**

**I've decided that I will start uploading this weekly, like everything else. My Fanfiction account is so empty right now; it will be good to exercise the bunnies here!**

_**Broken Wolf/D.R.M**_

**1,104 words**

**4,886 characters**

**84 lines**

**2 pages**

**33 paragraphs**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Sam!" The harsh whisper was all it took to wake the Goth from her slumber. Still, she was warm and didn't feel like moving. Besides, it was probably just her imagination or something. "Sam, I know you're awake; you flinched." He was still whispering, why was he still whispering? She reluctantly peeked around the blanket to glare at the white haired intruder, his head poking out of the ceiling.

"What do want, Danny?" She asked groggily.

"Has my mom called?"

_How can he sound so alert this early in the morning? _"What?" She tried to reorganize her thoughts before asking again. "Why would your mom call?"

Before he could answer, the phone rang. Sam paused, giving the phone a glare before redirecting it at Danny. Said hybrid flouted down the rest of the way through the ceiling to land on the floor at the end of her bed. A few moments after the phone stopped ringing, a call from down stairs rang faintly in her room. Sam, getting the gist of the yell went to pick up the phone located on her desk.

"I got it, Mom. Oh, hello Mrs. Fenton. Yes, Danny's here… Yeah sure, I'll tell him. K' bye." The girl hung up the phone and looked at Danny, who was currently between grinning like a maniac and doing a little happy dance. "You have incredible timing…" Sam trailed off and went back to bed.

"Thanks Sam!" The girl simply waved him away as she snuggled deeper into her blankets.

Danny left her in favor for flying out the window. He found a little alcove in between buildings, one he used often, and transformed back into human form. Making sure no one saw him; he walked out onto the sidewalk and started for home_. _

"_You do know that just because I helped you doesn't mean that we're friends."_

Danny sighed. He had hoped that maybe, just maybe, his mom had gotten over her pure loathe for his alter ego. He smiled grimly; _why would things change? She was only helping me because of her little hunter rules…_ He kicked a stray can in his frustration, sending the unfortunate garbage clattering across the street. _All I am to them is a specimen. They'll tear me apart, molecule by molecule._ Danny pushed away his depressing thoughts and plastered his best fake smile before opening the door to his home.

**XXX **(change in pov)

The front door slammed shut, a second later Danny called throughout the house, announcing he was home. Maddie; who had been making fudge for her large husband, peeked around the corner of the kitchen door to see her son standing there. She hurriedly put the mixing bowl on the table and went to stand in the door way, hand placed on her hips. Danny stopped short, taking in her aggressive stance with quickly paling features. "Daniel James Fenton! The next time you decide to stay at a friend's house, please tell us."

She saw Danny visibly relax as she said his name, regardless of the harsh tone she had used. "Sorry, Mom. We were watching a movie and I just fell asleep. The next thing I know, the phone's ringing." He smiled sheepishly at her, rubbing the nape of his neck.

Maddie smiled slightly at her son, inwardly commenting to herself that he looked so cute when embarrassed. _Phantom looked like that too when he had blurted out his age…_

Maddie furrowed her eye brows, confused by the sudden veer her thought train took. Danny was looking worried as he looked back at her. "You okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she replied. Then, to take her mind off the weird thought that had occurred, she asked, "what movies did you see?"

Danny smiled. "Teacher of Doom and Bloody Parent IV."

Maddie grimaced and Danny grinned. The names were bad enough; she didn't want to know what those movies were actually about. Although horror movies almost always had very accurate titles to fit the nonexistent plot. She turned away from her son and walked back into the kitchen. She didn't see the grin on Danny's face drop like a brick as he gave her pensive look.

"So, what did you do last night?" The question was casual enough but Maddie heard the slight tremor.

"Oh, you know; went hunting, caught some ghosts, the usual." Puzzled by Danny's curiosity and obviously feigned attempt to make it sound like a run of the mill question, she aimed to sound just as casual, to throw him off.

"What kind of ghosts did you catch?"

_Was purposely trying to get me to admit I caught Phantom? How could he possible know?_ "Why are you so interested?" She didn't mean to make the question so blunt.

"Just curious." In reply to her tone, Danny sounded frustrated and annoyed. "I'm going to my room. I didn't sleep very well last night." Then he was gone from the kitchen.

Maddie grunted in frustration. Danny had been drifting farther and farther from her. Now that he was actually trying to be friendly, she went and chased him away. She wasn't as blind as she let on. Ever since the accident in the lab, almost seven months ago, Danny had been hiding something, he was colder to his entire family. Except recently Jazz and he had become very close, the girl even offering to take him places when before you couldn't get her to do it if you begged. Maddie sighed sadly, yearning for the connection with her children that they seemed to have with each other.

**XXX**

**A/N: Yay! So chapter three is shorter but I don't care. I'm tired and I got to where I wanted to be with this chapter. Sorry about last chapters; I had forgot to proofread it (actually I had but I did it when I should be sleeping and so it didn't go very well), I'll fix it later. School's starting this week, so things are about to get really hard for me if I plan to try to keep up with weekly uploads. I have a much bigger project that takes up a lot more time than everything else I do, so that almost made me late last week. But this week is doing much better!**

**Anyway, thank you all for all the reviews and support. I've never had so many before and I thank you! So please tell me: do you love it? Do you hate it? Is it boring? Tell me how to improve.**

_**Broken Wolf/D.R.M.**_

**1,090 words**

**4,861 characters**

**89 lines**

**2 pages**

**33 paragraphs**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Beware!" It was the only warning Danny got when all of a sudden, a pile of neatly stacked boxes collapsed on top of him.

He grunted in frustration and fazed through the boxes to look at the not so terrifying ghost. He was levitating a yard off the ground, hunched over in his classic chubby posture. He was looking absolutely thrilled with the fact that he had actually managed to catch the ghost boy off guard. Danny looked down at the boxes that now sat in his legs, papers scattered all across his parent's lab.

He then turned his glare up to the flouting nuisance, turning himself into his ghost form. "You know, I'm going to have to clean that up."

The ghost simply smiled evilly at him, or at least as evilly as someone that wasn't very good at being diabolically evil in the first place could. "I am the Box Ghost! I will pummel you with the rectangular sha—_Aggsh!_" He was cut off swiftly as Danny shot a single ecto-blast at him and sent him hurtling backwards and into the ghost portal. Danny smirked at his small victory and allowed his body to become human again.

"Danny!" The boy spun around, away from the portal to look at his mother.

"Mom! Look, I can explain!" He took a step forward, then stopped and simply reached his hands out to her, hoping to placate her. She was staring at the mess behind him. "I- There- You- He- An accident, and—"

"Daniel James Fenton!"

_Great she used my whole name twice today, I'm sure to get grounded if not ripped apart 'molecule by molecule.'_

"Look at this mess! What were you doing? Dancing?"

Danny was silent for a long moment, disbelief and shock running rampant through his entire body. "What…?" It was practically a whisper but Maddie heard him.

"How did this happen?" She repeated.

Danny was still in a state of shock. Either she really hadn't seen his spectacular display of stupid confidence or she was pretending she hadn't. She certainly wasn't acting like someone who had just found out that her only son was part ghost and very possibly one of her biggest enemies. She was acting like a mother scolding her only son for making a mess.

Danny quickly pulled himself back together. "Umm… Yeah! I was dancing. I'm too clumsy, though. I ran into the shelf." He smiled shakily, not missing Maddie's reaction to his nervous behavior. Said reaction consisted of her eyebrows furrowing and her stepping forward. She gently placed a hand on his cheek and peered into his face worriedly.

"Are you okay, Danny? These past few months you've seemed… _off_."

Danny's smile faltered for a fraction of a second but it came back just as strong, if not a little forced. "Yeah, Mom, I'm fine. Don't worry, it's just school. You know, freshmen in high school. It can be a little stressful sometimes. I'm fine, though." He pulled away from his mother, an action not missed on Maddie's part as seeming almost eager to get away. He started to pick up the scattered papers and upset boxes.

"Well, alright." Maddie seem reluctant to go or believe the cooked up lie her son had so easily created for her. She knew it was something more than just school work. Perhaps bullies, which would explain all the late nights of him coming home with bruises on his face and arms. He didn't want her help and she wasn't about to pry, fearing it would drive him further away. So she sighed and cleared her throat. Danny looked up at her. "I'll clean this up; you go upstairs and work on school work or something."

Danny gave her an almost appalled look. "Or something?"

Maddie nodded and smiled at her son. "You look tired, dear. Go take a nap or watch TV or play a video game."

Danny continued to give her a half crazed look before picking up the box he had been working to refill and placed it on the shelf it had been knocked from. "Okay, I'll go call Sam." And he was walking away from her and up the stairs. Maddie watched him go, a frown marring her face. It felt like he was walking away from her forever.

**XXX**

"I don't know, Sam. She came in the same moment I changed. What if she saw and is just acting like Jazz did?"

"Danny, your mom wouldn't react like that. Jazz is a psychiatrist; she wanted you to trust her enough to tell her yourself."

Danny paused. "How do you know that?"

"Girl's intuition? She told me." Sam sighed along the phone line. "Maybe you should have Phantom confront her."

"You talk as if we're two different people." Danny sounded let down and hurt.

"Danny! Stop over analyzing things! Just confront her as Phantom and see if she reacts the same as she used to or if she treats you like Danny." Sam sighed and a long pause stretched between the two teens. "I have to go." Sam said quietly. "Keep me posted."

They said there good byes and the phone line went dead. As Danny put it back on the receiver, he thought about his best friend's words.

**XXX**

**A/N: Okay, so school has officially started and I'm under a massive work load. I'm sorry if I can't upload as frequently as I promised but I will try my hardest to say on track. There will eventually, if I do fall behind, be a time when I catch up and you will see more than one at a time. But hopefully, things won't come to that I will be able to stay on time.**

**Thank you every one on all the wonderful feedback. I'm very glad that everyone is enjoying this and I hope that this installment did not disappoint you.**

_**Broken Wolf/D.R.M.**_

**986 words**

**4,359 characters**

**80 lines**

**2 pages**

**32 paragraphs**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

To do, or not to do… To be, or not to be…

Since when was he quoting Shakespeare? Danny shook his head as he sat up. He crossed his legs, messing the blanket below him more, and stared into the opposite wall as if it could magically give him the answer to all his earthy and ghostly problems. But as expected, the wall did not respond and if it had, Danny was sure he would have blasted it to pieces.

He shook his head again, "what am I supposed to do?"

The knock on his door the next second had him almost jumping clear out of his skin. He had been so preoccupied with his own thoughts that a ghost could have walked right in, said hello, and wrecked havoc on his house without him even noticing! … Okay, he was over exaggerating but still, he should have been more alert.

"Who is it?" He winced as he heard his voice shake and crack, he even sounded like he'd just been scared half to death. He grunted bitterly as he got off the bed; than he would have been all ghost.

"Danny? It's me." His mother's voice came through the door and a thrill of fear coursed through his body. She sounded timid, as if she meant to talk about something she really didn't want to. "Can I come in?"

Danny's eyes left the light blue door and scanned his room for anything suspicious. Thankfully he found none except for a discarded Thermos, which he kicked under the bed. "Umm… Yeah, come on in."

The door creaked open hesitantly; just enough for his mother to peek her head in before she opened it more and stepped inside. She closed the door gently behind her and looked up at her son.

Danny smiled shakily at her and she frowned in return. Danny nearly smacked himself. He could act like Phantom, then he could pretend to be a normal teenaged boy, but he couldn't act even the slightest bit confident and fearless in front of his own mother. He faced the worst ghosts the Ghost Zone could throw at him, he could even face himself and the dangers his powers could be; but here he was, standing in front of his own mother, his caregiver, the one person he trusted almost everything to and he couldn't get himself to stop shaking in fear. Of course, the whole trust statement was tarnished with one simple word: _almost_.

He mentally shook his head and willed his smile to be more real, or at least more convincing. Maddie stepped forward and took her son's face in her hands. She examined those baby blue eyes with such scrutiny, Danny was sure she was searching for a sign of Phantom's toxic green eyes.

His voice finally found him, though muffled by the pressure her hands were putting on his cheek. "Mom, you okay?"

She blinked, suddenly coming to her senses. "No Danny, I'm not. I worried about you, and if you're not okay, I'm not okay."

Danny pulled his face out of her grasp and turned back to his bed, away from her. That action was not lost on the woman. "I'm okay, I swear." He lied… he was always lying. Danny only hoped that she couldn't see through his lie, couldn't see that he was no longer able to look her in the eye and tell the truth.

"Danny…" She trailed off into nothing and Danny felt more than saw the tears slip into her eyes and down her flawless cheeks. "Why don't you tell what's wrong. I'm your mother; you should be able to tell me. You won't be in trouble, I promise." Danny could feel she wanted to step forward but was afraid to break the tense peace that was between them. And Danny wished she wouldn't be as afraid of him as he was of her. He sighed deeply, making Maddie perk up.

"I wish I could, Mom. I really do. But I don't think you would understand. Besides… You couldn't help me even if you wanted to."

**XXX**

**A/N: Boy that was a short chapter but the quality was better in my honest opinion. I wasn't to sure what I was going to do in this chapter when I first started. I suppose that was part of the reason I was late. Yeah, the dead line was yesterday but I got it only a day late. I'm having a hard time with this now, I'm not to sure how I'm going to end it. It doesn't help that my current obsession has switched back to Code Geass (**_**gurgle, gurgle -Lelouch- gurgle, gurgle).**_** But hopefully, after I watch all the episodes again, I'll be able to get over the **_**Pure Epicness**_** of the whole thing. School is still dragging me down but I'll try to get this week's chapter on time.**

_**Broken wolf/D.R.M.**_

**822 words  
3,503 characters  
59 lines  
2 pages  
19 paragraphs**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Maddie closed the door behind her and stopped. She starred into the opposite wall, thinking of the words that had just come out of her own son's mouth.

_I wish you could, Mom. I really do. But I don't think you would understand. Besides… You couldn't help me if you wanted to._

No! She couldn't be stopped by those simple words. And yet, here she stood. Jack was out of the house (God forbid, he was out ghost hunting) and Jazz was with some friends. They were the only two in the house and her son had just confirmed her greatest nightmare. He was moving away from her. She was losing as if he were a ghost, simply phasing out of her hands and fading from sight. How was she supposed to stop a ghost that was her son? Or better yet, where in the world did she get this horrible metaphor?

But the ghost thinking had borne an idea in her head. Phantom was a wonderful distraction to the day's horrors. But of course, there was always the never ending problem of trying to find Phantom in the first place. But with problems come solutions and Maddie had an unfaltering way of getting Phantom to show up.

She walked down to the lab with one last glance at her son's door.

**XXX**

Danny could have hit himself for his stupidity. He was just waiting for his mother to suddenly scream he was a ghost and blast him with the Fenten Bazooka. But no scream and no bazooka; just the quiet click of the door being closed gently. Danny turned hesitantly to find the spot his mother had been in was now vacant. Danny sighed and plopped down on his bed. Why was life so hard!?

He sat for a long time, thinking, pouting, and listening to his own internal monologue when his ghost sense went off. He groaned, his monologue getting louder. He sat for a moment longer, trying to harden his resolve before gracefully rolling to his feet off the bed, jumping through the window, and transforming into Phantom in one movement. He flew up to higher altitudes and scanned the empty street below for any signs of the specter.

When he spotted it, he almost laughed. It seemed that the Box Ghost had gotten himself into a fight. With Danny's mother, at that. He turned invisible and dropped from the sky to land nearby. He watched with growing amusement and pride as the ghost threw boxes that Maddie dodged and then threw her own attacks. The box ghost was no match for the huntress. But what really got to Danny was after the ghost had been sucked into the thermos, Maddie started mocking the ghost.

"I am the box ghost!" She threw her arms dramatically in the air. "Beware! I will attack you with my soggy boxes of _Doom_!" She then started doing a brilliant impression of Dracula. "Bleh, bleh!"

Danny couldn't help it. The laughter that erupted from the hybrid both alerted Maddie to her intention, and caused Danny to become visible once again.

**XXX**

**A/N: Once again, another short one but I'm hoping to start to get thing back on time again (which this is not!). My teachers somehow forgot to give me homework this weekend, but I never said I will complain! Fehw! Things are starting to get angsty. I was hoping to get some kind of laughter into this, but I'm afraid that I'm not very good at writing humor. But just the picture Maddie imitating the box ghost was hilarious.**

**Once again, I thank everyone that takes the time to leave lovely reviews. I Love and read them all I promise.**

_**Brokenwolf13/D.R.M.**_

**622 words  
2,762 characters  
50 lines  
2 pages  
16 paragraphs**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Phantom's laughter was abruptly cut off as the Jack O' Nine Tails was shot at him. He jumped up into the air with a frightened squawk, Maddie cursed. She re-reeled the weapon and shot at him again. The second round, Phantom was not as fortunate as the first. The sticky vines wrapped around his torso and arms.

Suddenly unable to use his powers, he fell to a heap on the ground. Maddie ran forward and secured his arms in anti-ghost cuffs. Once she felt that Phantom couldn't go anywhere, she stepped back and wait for him to come back out of the fall induced haze.

He blinked those toxic colored eyes, and shook himself. He blinked a few more times before turning his glowing gazed to her. He stayed silent, as if waiting for her do something, a conflicted look on his face.

"I need to talk to you."

He surprised her greatly by looking away and sighing as if he knew this was coming. "You know don't you?" It was more of a statement than anything else.

Maddie furrowed her brows and opened her mouth to say something in the contrary. She stopped herself, though, and decided to play along, curious as to what she was supposed to know.

"I'm sorry…" Phantom trailed away, a look a sickness coming over his unnaturally pale face. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you earlier."

"Explain," she demanded harshly and Phantom flinched away as if she had hit him.

"The Fenton Portal… I just wanted to fix it."

Maddie's eyes widened suddenly at the thought of Phantom under her roof, that close to her children. "What happened!" She growled.

"I'm sorry!" Phantom yelled in response to her harsh tone. "I'm sorry, Mom! I didn't mean to do it! And I fixed it! I was trying to help people, I'm not evil! I'm _not_ evil!" He continued to yell.

"Mom? You _dare_ you call me that?" Beyond rage, Maddie yelled back at him, anger making her voice harsh. "I am not your mother."

Danny was stunned, the word that had just come from his mother's… no, his hunter's mouth was the last thing ever wanted to hear. Pain and sorrow swirled in him, making his gut twist painfully. "Mom…" He whined. He felt tears slip from his eyes and roll down his face. "I thought you of all people wouldn't hate me for this."

He made reference to 'this' as white rings appeared around his waist, split, and traveled separate ways over his entire body. Maddie watched in horror as her enemy was replaced by her own son.

**XXX**

**A/N: DunDunDun! Boy I waited for this chapter for a whole seven-plus weeks. But I did it! And I'm late… I think next chapter will be the last. This was really short, I'm so sorry peoples! School has taken its toll and I am three weeks behind. So I hope this was written okay albeit being so short.**

**One more after this then I'll stop bothering you.**

_**Broken Wolf/D.R.M.**_

**507 words  
2,244 characters  
43 lines  
1 page  
19 paragraphs**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Her son, Phantom was her son? No, this couldn't be it! Phantom was just trying to trick her! But it was her son, the same eyes, the same hair, the same face; it was Danny. It was Phantom; it was both.

"Danny…?" Maddie tried to take a step back but ended up falling on her rump.

"Mom…" His voice shook and tremble with his tears. He tried to crawl forward but came falling on his face at her knees. He laid there, his face in the dirt, his voice muffled, "I'm sorry."

Maddie fought with herself for several minutes, watching her son try to lift his face and the spit out some of the dirt he had swallowed. She wanted to pick him off the ground and tell him she loved him. But a fear that this wasn't really her son would not leave her mind.

"What are you…?"

Danny had stopped trying to sit up and only sat with his face turned to the left and his entire torso resting on the ground. "I… I don't know… I'm a ghost, I'm human; I'm both." He said this in a quietly somber tone, one that again raised the instinct in Maddie to hold her boy and tell him it was okay.

"How did this happen?"

"I already told you, I walked into the portal and it turned on."  
Maddie gasped. "It only half killed you, by infusing your DNA with ecto-plasm."

"Yeah, thus giving me ghost powers. I didn't mean to become the most famous ghost in Amity but it just sort of happened."

"What about the Mayor Fiasco?"

"What?" Danny made another attempt to look at her and Maddie chose that moment to help him sit up. "That? I was framed by a ghost named Walker."

"Walker?"

"Yeah, big shoulders, all white, claim to be the Ghost Zone's warden." Danny rolled his eyes.

Maddie stopped to watch him for a moment. Her son was the ghost boy. Her son… "Are you a hero, Danny?" She asked quietly.

Danny, who had been staring into space, refocused his eyes to look at her. "Mom, why do ask me these questions when a moment ago, I wasn't supposed to be your son?" he said the last bit bitterly and Maddie flinched at his tone.

"Because I didn't know you _were_ my son." Maddie paused and took the boy in a crushing hug. "Oh, Danny! I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it, I love you. I love you so much. I don't care what you are."

She felt Danny stiffen in her arms as the apology came out. He started to tremble again and he suddenly jolted in her arms. Worried, she pulled him away to look at him. New tears were coming down his face, making trails in the dirt.

"I was so scared. I'm so glad I don't have to keep this a secret anymore."

"Why didn't you tell me?" She suddenly became stern, calmly undoing the anti-ghost cuffs.

"I was scared you wouldn't love me any more. I know it's childish but when you guys say every day that you want to tear a ghost apart molecule by molecule, I was worried."

Maddie felt her stomach do a flip-flop in guilt. She remembered now that every time she saw Phantom, she was always saying that she was going to rip him apart. She had been so angered by the Mayor Fiasco that she had not noticed the clues that had been laid out so obviously before her. "Danny, it's not childish to be worried. I would be, too if my parents where hell-bent on tearing me apart."

Danny gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah…"

"Danny? Are you a hero?"

There was a long pause. Danny's clear blue eyes never left hers the entire time. "Yes." He finally said, a firm tone of resolution in his voice.

Maddie stood up and helped the boy up as well. "Let's go inside and clean you up."

"No experiment? No 'I wanna draw your blood and take samples of your hair and skin'?"

Maddie looked down at her son. "As much as that is appealing, no. I can settle for some answers, hot chocolate, and a cuddle."

Danny looked playfully appalled. "A cuddle? That's a bit much, don't you think?"

"I think you could use it," she replied matter-of-factly.

"Bah!"

Danny smiled as he followed his mother inside. Perhaps for a little while, everything was going to be okay… "Umm, Mom?"

"Yes dear?"

"Are we going to tell Dad?"

"…Eventually…"

_**Fin**_

**XXX**

**A/N: Well, that's the end of that. I really loved every single one of your reviews and I appreciate all the support that was given to me. I want to thank all of you for sticking with me and giving me the wonderful feedback. Without, I probably would have dropped this, so thank you for all the encouragement.**

_**Broken Wolf/ D.R.M.**_

**820 words  
3,492 characters  
76 lines  
2 pages  
39 paragraphs**


	9. Chapter 9

He could almost believe he was moving at light speed. He laughed. He could not help it, could not keep it in. He loved pushing himself to be the fastest. He liked expending the effort to be in effortless flight, if there was such a thing. When he was like this, nothing could hold him down. He was free.

Well, almost. The buzz in his ear brought him back down. He slowed up slightly so that he could hear whoever was trying to talk to him over the whipping and lashing of his slipstream.

"Danny, can you break the sound barrier?"

That was interesting question. Posed innocently by his spectator. He glanced down at the street below, looking to the woman in the blue hazmat.

"I never tried that before."

He ducked is head, brought his hands down to his side, pushed himself forward. His spectral tail spun out behind him as he became a streak of white. Faster, faster, faster. He felt the pressure around his head and chest change, the slipstream wavering and becoming tighter. He gave one last push at the resistance, and tore the sound barrier for all it worth.

It felt like he had just dove through a sock but as soon as he was on the other side, he was good. His ears roared as the shockwave pushed out behind him. He laughed hysterically, opening his mouth by mistake. He felt something thwack against the roof of his mouth and zip down his throat. He decelerated in an instant of horror, coughing on the offending fly that decided to share his flight pattern, and eventually his lung.

Maddie was laughing as he landed. She was clapping furiously, looking up at the broken windows across the street with some sort of manic glee. Jazz came running down the steps of the house, looking thoroughly frazzled. Danny was still coughing.

"What just happened?" The girl looked between her mother and brother. "What did you two do?"

Danny turned his hand intangible, searching inside his chest for a moment. The seemingly harmless action stopped Maddie's laughing as she watched. He pulled out the fly and glared at it before flicking it away.

"You can turn only parts intangible?" Maddie asked, fascinated.

"Again!" Jazz nearly roared. "What. Happened?"

Danny laughed, glancing down the street before turning back into a human. "Just some flight practice, Jazz."

"Does flight practice include breaking the neighbor's windows?" She was starting to look more amused than angry as said neighbors began to poke their heads out of those broken windows. She fought to keep the scorn in her voice.

"Jeez, Jazz. You're starting to sound like mom."

Maddie grunted. "Is that so bad?"

Both teens looked at her, then looked at each other. There was the silent understanding only achieved by siblings. They walked back inside without answering, the woman following behind.

The fourth party member nearly bowled them over as they came through the door. The man in the orange jumpsuit, and the only one oblivious to the 'truth', as Jazz had fondly called it. He clenched a gun the size of Danny's torso, looking determined.

Maddie made the perfect road black at the door. "Jack, sweety. What's wrong?"

"I heard an explosion. There's a ghost outside, isn't there? I'll get that spook and show it not to mess with my house!" He nearly shoved Maddie out of the way but the woman was known for being hard to move.

"No, Jack. It was just a plane breaking the sound barrier. No ghosts or the house sensors would have been going off like crazy." She had dismantled the working one as per Danny's request. Jack never checked them, so he would never actually find out.

Jack calmed and watched the three venture inside, laughing about something he was completely impartial to. He hated being out of the loop, and he seemed to be increasingly so as of late. Danny had been hiding something from them for a while now. Jack remembered Maddie mentioning it awhile back. Jazz had seemed to have gotten in on whatever it was, another observation on the woman's part. Jack was not known for his social skills, and could not tell when something was wrong. Not quite like Maddie could, but he was not completely inept, either. He could see that his wife was in on the big secret now, too.

He put the gun on the coffee table. He had to remember to make Danny put it away properly later. But first… He glanced out the door, still partially open, and noticed the massive amounts of broken glass everywhere. Some prideful part of his mind silently congratulated himself on installing the ghost proof glass on the house. He had seen that Ghost Kid scream and knock down a building once, and he had to take some precaution. The neighbors had not been so smart.

Jazz and Danny were sitting at the dining table when he moved back into kitchen, smelling leftover casoral from the night before. Danny had been in the middle of a joke pertaining to an arrow to the knee but Jazz promptly shut him with a whack to the back of the head. They noticed Jack standing in the doorway and shut up like they had been conspiring against him.

The man looked to his wife, and she was deftly ignoring him in favor for dishing out the delicious food. He came up to the counter and waited for her to return to her post. He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her gently. His way of saying that he needed to talk to her. If siblings had their own language, so did old married couples.

"Ew, gross!" Danny crooned.

"Grow up, Danny," Jazz chided next to him.

"I used to be a grown up before I-" _Whack!_ "Ouch."

Jazz had that smug look on her face when the two ghost hunters looked back at their children.

"Jazz, will you help your brother with his book project? Go ahead and take your lunches."

"What book proj-" Jazz elbowed the boy before he could finish. He took the hint. "Oh! That one!" They both got up and left the two adults to their conversation.

**XXX**

**What the fug is this? Le gasp! Is this a sequel! Maybe! Written in the same gaggle as Moral Code to prevent confusion and such and so that I don't have to waste time yelling at people to go read the first part. I didn't beta this, because I'm lazy and such and don't want to hunt one down. Of course, if someone is willing to be my slave… :}**

**Just Kidding! Woo, tough crowd. ANYWAY!**

**I loved the turn out that this story got and the continued reviews/favorites I received over the last two or three years since I originally wrote this. And man did my writing reek back then! Keep in mind, it still does, but I wrote MC (-snort- almost thot that minecraft for a moment) in the beginning of my sophomore year and now I'm finishing my senior year in about a month. Time sure does fly.**

**If any of you have been following my account, you'll notice that I've been pretty quiet for some time, now. Working on school and my job and writing my original fictions as well. But in light of the Jak and Daxter Fic I'm going to be finishing soon and going to start posting hopefully. I've decided to come out of my silence. So I've taken an entire weekend to do laundry and watch Danny Phantom. Of course, old memories bring back old plot ottsels to nibble at my brain.**

**Be prepared for many game references (as my palate for gaming has expanded since you last saw me), general silliness, a few ooc moment because I'm still trying to acclimate to the characters again, and of course delicious ghostly angst! –cough- I mean Maddie's casoral!**

**So after that long winded hullaballoo, on to actually talking about the chapter (what you thought I was done talking? Pffft!) I'm still developing many ideas for this. I want Valerie in this for sure. Not at all sure what she'll be doing, but she'll be there! Poor Danny doesn't know what he's got coming. But enough of that. I want to know, if you get down to the bottom of this rant, what you think would be totally awesome for this story? **

**Also, in case you're curious and have an insanely long memory, I changed my name. I used to be Brokenwolf13 for several years but I've shucked that name for something more 'mature' (HA! If that could ever happen!), but equally as misspelled.**

**Tata**

**-**_**Twist**_


	10. Chapter 10

"What do you think dad wanted to talk about?" Danny asked offhandedly. He did not dare take his eyes or hands off the death match he was currently participating in.

"How am I supposed to know? Stop distracting me, Danny." Jazz scolded, halfhearted. She was a hundred pages deep in a book on phycology, from what Danny could guess. The boy was running a simulation on the Fenton Ghost Combat Tester. It had been modified to not imprison him every time he used his powers. Jazz often came down to watch just in case anyway.

"You think he's suspicious?"

"If he hasn't figured out yet, I doubt he would now."

"You think Mom would tell him."

This actually got Jazz to look up from the book. "Hmm…" She put the marker in the book and put it down. She watched Danny for a moment. He was only half paying attention to the simulation. It was throwing grenades at him, which he dodged in the confines of the space. He moved up toward the ceiling of the large box as it spat another at him. He caught one before it the wall, zipping out the way of another, and threw it at the dispenser before the timer ran out.

The machines could take a punch but this was not the level ten and the grenade launcher pretended to be damaged, powering down and sinking back into the floor. Danny waved his hand and the simulation froze as the metal claws started to sprout from the ports next to said grenade launcher. The transparent dome retracted to let Danny out. Not that it made much a difference, he could just faze through it.

He turned back into a human, the light rings turning the hero to boy in an instant. Jazz always found that fascinating, but she would leave the scientific questions to their mother. "What do you mean, 'hmm'?"

"I don't think she'd tell him. Not without you there."

Danny looked at the floor, his brow furrowing. "I don't know, Jazz. So much has happened in the last few days. It's so weird."

Jazz understood. Maddie's reaction to finding out that her son was also her arch enemy was not news normal people could just adjust to and move on. Granted, the huntress had questions. More questions than Danny could ever hope to answer, but she was also acting all buddy-buddy now. Jazz had acted like that as well, but that was because Danny was still in danger in his own home. But she had gotten over it. Covered for him always, but had managed to make her behavior standard.

Sometimes, Danny was afraid that that day had been a dream and she did not actually know. The way she acted, it could be true. He figured it had not sunk in yet. He waited for it like one anticipated a bomb as it dropped from orbit. The inevitable was coming, but you couldn't help but be afraid anyway.

He was not afraid of her like he had been. He knew that she wouldn't kill him if he suddenly went ghost on her. But the emotional explosion of finding out your son is half dead was something equally as frightening.

"Speaking of Dad. Are you going to tell him soon?"

Before Danny could answer, Maddie announced herself coming down the stairs to the lab. She approached her children, looking a little grim. She didn't say anything at first, looking at her son like he was about to tell her something very important.

Finally after what seemed like a terribly long eon, Danny finally spoke. "Mom, what?"

Maddie shook herself from her trance. "Your father is getting suspicious."

"Of what?" Jazz knew the answer, but she wanted to clear what part of that answer was true.

"Nothing specific. He knows that something isn't quite right, though."

Danny did his fake goatee rub in anticipation for when he actually had one. "We'll have to be more careful."

"Or you could just tell him," Jazz deadpanned.

"That is a possibility, Danny," Maddie joined.

The Halfa looked between the two women. He rounded on Jazz. "Why are you pushing me to tell him all of a sudden. You weren't like this before."

Maddie tried to say something but seeing this argument brewing, which could garner positive results as well as clear up the motives around her son's hesitation, she decided to remain impartial.

"Things have changed, Danny. We have Mom now."

"So? Dad still has access to the ecto-weapons."

That made Maddie wince. Is that Danny thought of them? Is that what he was afraid of? Well, duh! _I will rip you apart, molecule by molecule._ Only now did she understand why he liked quoting that particular phrase.

"Yeah, but mom can stop him if he goes for them."

Now that that possibility had been presented to her, Maddie could understand. "I'll keep you safe, sweety."

"See," Jazz gloated. "Mom thinks it's a good idea."

"But I don't!" Danny was getting angrier by the minute. He was leaning in toward his sister, trying to make himself more intimidating to someone that was already taller than him. His fists were clenched. "I don't like you trying to decide who I should tell or not."

"Danny, he's your father." Maddie tried to placate.

Danny was done arguing with them. As far as he was concerned, he did not have to stay. He made an exasperated noise, moving away from their little circle and to the stairs back to the house proper.

"Where are you going, Danny?" Jazz called after him.

"Out."

"What?" Typical of Jazz to get worked up about this. Evasion was his best conversational skill, and she hated it more than anything else he used against her. "You can't run from this, Danny. If you don't tell him, I will."

Danny stopped mid-step. "No you won't, Jazz. Besides, he wouldn't believe you unless he saw for himself."

Jazz opened her mouth to argue back but Maddie put her hand on her daughter's shoulder. It was no use in pushing anymore. Danny was gone in a flash of light all too familiar.

**/-/-/**

**I think I'm getting back into the swing of things. It isn't up to par to what I've been doing lately, but the style my writing has taken is too serious for this kind of story. We'll just have to deal with a blast from the past. I thought the scene mechanic was way too choppy for my tastes, but I'm too lazy to fix it now. Tell me what you think.**


	11. Chapter 11

Danny was not coming back any time soon, Maddie discovered with a forlorn sigh. She had been watching the Fenton Ghost Detector for hours. No ghosts, no Danny. She mused briefly that the thing did not always pick up his ecto-signature when in his human form. Most of the machines around the house were spotty at best when it came to the hybrid.

Maddie sighed again. Danny was not human anymore. He was… Well, she did not really know what he was now. Half ghost, half human. Hybrid, Jazz called him once. She seemed fine with all of this. Maddie was determined to be fine, too. It was just going to take a while, that was all.

Another ghost, who Danny called 'Skulker', had called him 'The Halfa'. Whatever the hell that meant. "Halfa." She tasted it on her mouth. It felt unnatural.

This Skulker had not so much said it, but spat it out like it left a bad taste in it's mouth. Danny had laughed at it, made witty banter like they were old friends, not mortal enemies. The ghost and her son were scarily familiar with each other. They traded bullets and blows like one would pass a ball in a friendly game of football. Except, one was dead, the other only half so, and about a hundred feet in the air.

Maddie would never forget that fight. It was the first time she had really _watched_. Whenever Phantom… Danny… Had shown up before, she was always so preoccupied setting up weapons, looking for the other ghost, doing _something_. She had never just stood by and watched the Halfa fight another ghost.

She had started to do something. Had almost run inside to get her Fenton Anti-Ghost Bazooka. Show that metal creep who it was messing with. Jazz just put a hand on her shoulder, looked calmly upward to watch the exchange as if it was nothing. A daily occurrence as far as the senior was concerned. Maddie realized in that moment just how long Jazz had known about this. For her to be this completely okay. Like watching her daily soap opera, not her baby brother in mortal combat.

The fight was over in moments. Just… Poof. A few shot of green energy, Danny feinted to one side, the ghost fell for it. Danny dodged the other way, a grin on his face. Maddie would never forget that grin.

The grin of a battle already won. Like when she knew that she had just beaten Jack at checkers, or when her aim was dead on. She knew that face, knew that feeling. That feeling of euphoric victory. Nothing compared.

Seeing it on Phantom's- Danny's- face sent a chill down her spine. Not a bad one, granted. No, she would never want to deprive her son of that victorious feeling. No, it was an almost good chill.

She had so many questions. There were so many things they had to talk about. It had only been a few days. They had not had a real chance to sit down and discuss what had happened to Danny in the year and a half since the 'accident'. She hated it when he called it the 'accident'. It just reminded her how she had failed him.

Jazz brought her from her musings when she tromped to the top of the op-center stairs. The red head looked thoroughly peeved. She ran her fingers through her hair nervously. She marched over to Maddie, her eyes ablaze with unknown and very real fury. Maddie would have shrunk away from it had she not known the source and that it was not directed at her.

"Can we please leave, Mom," Jazz practically growled. "Dad is me driving up the wall."

Maddie could almost see Jack downstairs, sitting on the couch with his classic dejected/kicked puppy look on his face. He usually got it when he felt left out of the family gossip loop. Not that she could blame him. They had been skirting around his large mass for the last few days like he was a big time bomb. She snorted inwardly. The real time bomb was Danny.

It was Danny's birthday in a few days. Maddie had been thinking on that particular subject for a while now. It was not every year that your baby boy turned sixteen. She had wanted to do something special for him. What that 'something special' was, she had no idea.

"You know that Thrusday's Danny's birthday, right?" She asked Jazz.

The girl did not miss a beat. She nodded, going back to that pensive stare that could melt the floor she stood on. "So?"

Maddie stood up, giving one last mournful look at the Ghost Detector. "Our excuse to go out." Maybe by the time they got back, Danny would be, too. Some part of her brain, the part that went on random tangents, posed the brief question of _where did Danny go when he was hiding?_ She would not be surprised if she found out he was still in the house, just invisible. She had to remind herself that that whole invisible son thing was no longer a joke, but a very real possibility. She looked behind her to the dark corner of the op-center, anyway, half expecting him to be there.

"Are we going to get him something?"

"Thought about that. I don't know what he would want though."

Jazz looked devious for a split second, a grin spreading her features into something almost playfully sadistic. "We could get him a giant poster that said 'Fus Ro Dah'."

Maddie furrowed her eye brows. "What?" This was probably another joke about that game Jazz and Danny had become so enchanted with.

She laughed. "It funny because he has this power that knocks things away with his voice and in- Nevermind." The girl waved her mother off, seeing the looked of complete confusion slowly grown to… more confusion. "He would get it."

"He has a power that can…?"

Her laugh this time seemed a little uneasy. "Yeah. It's a wonder he never joined choir."

**XXX**

**I realize belatedly that I think I made Jazz a little too witty and Maddie a little too clueless. But… eh. So I actually took some time to examine my ceiling today. I now have a plan for where this story is going. So no more empty chapters of sorrow and dialogue. More Skyrim jokes (haven't even had time to play that damn game yet!), however. Also, a review I got mentioned something about people getting irritated by demanding updates. I want you, the reader, to know that I don't care much. I'm flattered that people are so into my story they demand updates, I think it's cute. It won't make me go any faster, or any slower, however. I would prefer constructive criticism above all else, so don't think this is an open invitation to spam me about the uses of my miniscule free time. But, anyway…**

**Tell me what you think!**


	12. Chapter 12

The house was quiet when Danny returned home. It was obvious, from Jazz's lack of car and general lack of confrontation, that the two women were gone. Not that he minded. He actually was rather thankful. He would tell his father when he was ready. Frankly, he was not ready.

He was already in human form when he reached the door, even though moments before, he had been floating inches above the concrete like it was perfectly normal. For him, it _was_. The door was unlocked, which meant that his father was still home.

He closed the door behind him, softly so as to not alert his dad. He stopped for a moment and listened. There was the distinct sound of a buzz saw working down in the lab. He decided that a nap was in order. Technus had given him enough of a work out as it was.

A year and a half of sneaking into his own house had taught him to avoid all the creaky stairs. He made it up to his room without incident. He pulled up to face the mirror strapped to his closet door, lifting his shirt briefly.

He was not surprised at the blooming discolorations all along his side. Technus had wrapped him like a python with one of his many tentacle arms, squeezing until he almost could not breathe. He stretched his right arm up, and immediately put it back down as searing pain lanced up his sides and gripped his lungs in a painful vice. He frosted the other hand and put it against the bruising flesh. The relief took a moment as the cold sank in.

Whatever injury inflicted to his ghost half, unless severe, only really showed up when he reverted back. As soon as he went ghost again, the bruises and occasionally even the broken rib or two would disappear until reverted again. He knew it pertained to his ability to completely reshape himself sometimes, but he was never really interested in the reasons behind it. Maddie, of course, had been, being a scientist at heart.

The ice begun to sting so he let it dissipate into his skin and dropped his shirt to hang around his waist again. He moved over to the bed. His injuries were such a common thing these days that he needn't be ginger about flopping down on the bed. Sleep took him within moments of setting himself down to rest.

He dozed in and out of states of consciousness for what seemed like forever, yet only a few seconds at the same time. He briefly wondered if there was a ghost of sleep or rest and if he was related to Clockwork. That made him think of ghost families and Box Lunch. An almost involuntary shudder ran through him, even if his mind was not connected to his body.

He rolled over in his sleep, finding his back to be more comfortable. About to return to the realm of dreams, this time for real, a cold shudder ran up his spine and goose bumps cropped up across his arm. He felt his hair stand on end and he was suddenly very awake.

He sat bolt upright, searching his immediate area for the source of the ghost. Instead, the first thing he saw was a wall of orange next to his head. He started, yelling out his surprise as he jumped backward. Except there was no backward. Only the end of the bed.

Concern was written all over Jack's face as he leaned over to check on his son's condition. "Danny?" He looked torn between laughing and helping the boy up. He decided that latter was going to be more helpful. He needed his son in a willing mood to talk. Antagonizing him was not going to help. He reached a hand down for the boy to take, which he did, and pulled him back on the bed.

Danny winced but said nothing. The pain in his ribs sent fire through his body for a moment. It subsided as he centralized a small chill to numb the throbbing injury. He made the painful mistake of giving his father the arm on the wounded side. It was habitual to give someone his right hand, though. He would have pouted had it not been suspicious.

"We need to have another one of those embarrassing father-son bonding talks." Jack started, his gaze traveling out the window.

Danny was barely even listening anymore. He remembered that his ghost sense had gone off. He wanted to check the house, outside, or something, but he did not dare look strange in his father's eyes. Things were already tense enough as it was. He did not need new questions to add to the list.

Oddly enough, there was no chill anymore. As if the ghost had only done a fly by. Stayed just long enough to wake him up, the dead bastard. He sighed, rubbing his face and finally turned his attention to his father. "What was that?"

"We need to talk."

Danny hated it so much when one of his parents said that. It meant so much to him, those little words. A million fears raced through his head at once. Did he know something? Danny knew that his father was getting suspicious. How long did he have until all of that came down to a crescendo? It would collapse on his head soon, he could feel it. All the small, once-sufficient supports he had set up to keep the stone of secrets firmly above his head were beginning to crumble, and with it, the boulder sank increasingly lower. He wondered, feared, if he would have to run out from under it before it fell, or if someone was going to come and help him keep it aloft.

"What about?" He tried to sound nonchalant, but knew he failed. He could almost hear the way his voice cracked and trembled.

"You've been hiding something from me, Danny." Jack's gaze was still out the window. "All of you have."

"Can't this wait until Mom and Jazz get home? They can help me explain what's been happening."

Jack's shoulders sagged. "So something has been wrong."

Danny smiled a little. It was now or never. "It hasn't _all _been wrong. There have been a few good things that came of it."

Before he could say more, before Jack could prompt more from him, the chill returned. He did not even have time to react, and the change was palpable enough that even Jack felt it. He pulled an ecto-gun from somewhere inside his hazmat. He stood from the bed, and Danny would have laughed to notice that the bed rose a whole foot without the large amount of extra mass holding it down, if they were not already in a dire situation.

However, the teen was far too concerned about the other ghost when it appeared. That infuriatingly smug, plotting smile; devious, knowing eyes. Plasmius grinned the grin of a battle already won.

**XXX**

**I would like to thank SwiftslashxLeafstorm for being a wonderful beta and pointing out a few flaws for me. Also, I wrote this when I should have sleeping. So it's on the suckish side. Sorry.**


	13. Chapter 13

Danny tore out of the door, out into the hall. Just in time, his room seemed to explode with anti-ecto foam. He was out of sight from his dad for the moment, he tromped a few feet to the stairs, making his feet extra loud so his Dad thought he had run down to the lab.

In reality, he spun when he reached the edge, white rings flashed over his body. His sore side was a distant memory by the time he zipped back in the direction of his room.

Plasmius had made to follow him and the two halfas faced off in the center of the hall. Danny did not see Jack emerge from his room. He would worry about that later. His dad was anything if not tough.

The end of Plasmius's cape had been burned away by the ecto-foam, and he looked a little less sure about his victory grin.

Jack barely had time to react. He pulled the ecto-foamer from inside his hazmat just as the ghost appeared. The Wisconsin Ghost, he recalled. By the time he took aim at the spook, Danny had already tore out of the room. He could hear him stomping down the stairs as he ran.

Assured that his son was safe, he let the ghost have a mouthful. Except that the ghost had bolted after Danny. A horrible thought struck the man; what if Danny was his target? He saw a wisp of its tail as it went for the door. He shot a blast of foam in its direction.

With a jolt of satisfaction, the spook cried out in irritation and spun around. Jack dove out of the way as it shot energy from it's hands, a grimace all over it's face. There was a flash of light in the semi-dark hall outside. The ghost was not distracted for long.

"I'll deal with you after the boy." It promised, spitting out the last word. Jack tried to recover, but he had dove into the hamper, the pile of clothes holding him down.

By the time he got out of it (jeez, how many clothes could Danny have?), there were already the sounds of a fight in progress. He practically leapt for the door, fearing the worse, hoping for the best.

What he got was something entirely unexpected, but not at all negative. His son was nowhere in sight. Instead, there was Phantom and the Wisconsin Ghost going at each other like nothing he had ever seen before. As much as he hated Phantom, he was grateful for the intervention. The longer the older one fought his younger adversary, the more time he had to find Danny and protect him. He almost ran past them entirely. He had a feeling the Danny was in the lab, probably trying to find a weapon to arm himself with. But the Wisconsin Ghost was winning, and that made him stay.

Why? He had no idea. He wanted to be there in case one of them fell, said a little voice in the back of his head. Why did he care? That was stupid. If one of them fell, he could catch him. The Code presented itself in his memory and he continued his trek to the stairs. He could leave Phantom to defend the fort for a moment. Or at least distract Mr. Wisconsin.

Except the lab was empty. The usual mess, nothing out of place. No signs of struggle, or even rummaging. Danny had never been in here. He had probably run out the front door. The house was quiet when he came up from the basement, but the sounds of battle had moved outside.

He grabbed the Anti-Ghost Bazooka from the kitchen table and ran out the door. Phantom and Mr. Wisconsin were approximately a hundred feet in the air, zipping around, dodging each other's ectoblasts and clashing. Toxic green flashed, returned bright pink.

Jack had watched Phantom fight before. He always had an ease to his skills. They were a natural part of him. He had watched him fight plenty of ghosts to know that Phantom was one of the better ones. It was why Jack had a begrudging respect for the ghost boy. It was also why he was so fascinated by the young spook. What made him so much more powerful than the rest?

But that didn't matter, not now. What did matter was that it looked like Phantom was evenly matched, or even, dare he say it, losing. He had seen the Wisconsin Ghost before. Who hadn't? He had even felt him when it had tried to overshadow him. He knew it was powerful.

By the time he had set the bazooka up, it was over. He had not seen the tide turn, or even what had become of the older one. All he knew was that Phantom was suddenly very much alone in the sky above him.

He put the bazooka down, or at least aimed it away from the remaining spook. He prayed against all hope that Phantom would see it as a sign of peace and come down to talk. He had a lot of questions for the boy. With a quick wave of the other hand, Phantom got the hint.

He floated down to him as if air was water, but he never physically touched the ground. His spectral tail never split into feet either. Jack knew this was a silent way for a ghost to say that it was prepared to make a fast getaway if need be.

"Are you alright?" Phantom asked. His voice held that odd echo that he was sure resonated from another plane before coming into human range of hearing.

"Yeah, fine." First thing was first. "Did you see my son?"

Phantom looked genuinely uncomfortable for a second. He set himself on the ground, a habitual action. He did not carry himself with the same pride he usually did. In fact, he looked a little worn out. "I uh…" He paused, looked down the street briefly. There was a short impasse between them, utter silence as Phantom seemed to contemplate something else entirely. He looked back at Jack, his eyes held a sort of resigned defiance.

A white ring appeared around his waist, something that Jack had never seen before. Surprise widened his eyes, what kind of ghost power was this? He raised the bazooka and Phantom's own face contorted into sheer terror. The ring snapped out of existence with a fizzle and Phantom popped off the ground, whatever resemblance to human nature gone in a blink. His ethereal eyes stared at him, as if waiting for him to do something else. "Haven't seen him!" His tail was back, and it whipped angrily underneath him, prepared to zip him away at a moment's notice.

Jack was quick to put the bazooka down again. Some unknown part of him was disappointed. "Wait!" He called before he got too far away. "The Wisconsin Ghost, why was he here?"

Phantom laughed, his previous fear washed away. "The fruit-loop was on regular business, probably."

_Fruit-loop_? "He's as strong as you are. Why?"

This time, it was anger that flickered across the boy's face, and his eyes grew a fraction brighter. "Don't remind me," he growled.

"Yes, Jack." A third voice set in, bearing the same other-worldly echo that Phantom's carried. "Just another reminder of how much of a _failure_ you are." 'Fruit-loop' was back from wherever Phantom had shooed him off to. He looked positively _furious_, and he was so damn close, Jack did not have time or room to move.

Phantom cried out, also caught by surprise. He fell to the ground with a faint yell, catching an ecto-ray dead in the chest. Jack was hit across the head with something that was much too hard to be Mr. Wisconsin's hand. He saw stars flicker across his vision and felt warm liquid trickle down his neck, not quite knowing how he got on the ground. The last thing he saw were the white rings reappearing around Phantom's waist.

**XXX**

**A small delay, but here we are again. Again thank you SwiftslashxLeafstorm for being my beta. Also, cliffhangers are fun.**


	14. Chapter 14

His head hurt. That was the first thing that really registered in his scrambled brain. Besides the fact that his entire chest was screaming at him. A hand came up to touch the wounds, tentative at first. He hissed and finally opened his eyes to assess the situation.

And boy, was it a sticky one. Danny looked around, a hand still hovering over his chest. Red blood had seeped through the shirt and made the fabric stick to his skin. He knew he was going to have a hell of a time getting it off later. Right now, however, he had far more on his mind then a silly little burn. He had no idea where he was.

Well, actually, he was in the middle of a forest. How he got there, now that was the question. Pine trees, so nowhere near Amity Park. The air had a chill nip to it. The glare he directed at his feet a second later told anyone that saw him that knew where he was. Wisconsin, home of the Wisconsin Ghost.

He finally pulled himself off the ground. Or, at least he tried to. As soon as he got his feet under him, the world pitched and the ground felt like it had heaved under him. Standing. Not so much.

He transformed first, the action did not take nearly as much concentration as it used to. He could do it when he was dizzy and disoriented now, a feat he was proud of.

It wasn't too soon, either. He heard something tromp through the leaves and scuffle around the small clearing he had been dropped in. He tried to get off the ground but trying to fly was worse than standing. He ended up flat on his back again, his head throbbing.

He closed his eyes, and prayed that whoever was coming up on him was not an enemy. Of course Danny _Phantom_ had a lot of enemies. But he dared not turn back now.

And then there was Phantom, lying flat on his back in the middle of a clearing. He wasn't moving at first and Jack felt a brick dropped in his stomach. He approached the boy, keeping his footsteps light. Of course, he knew that after tromping through the bushes like an elephant made all notions of stealth null and void at this point.

Phantom was not moving however, his eyes closed, his bangs splayed messily across his face. His face did not hold the peaceful expressionlessness of sleep, however. Jack picked up a branch during his slow approach, and when he got close enough, poked the ghost in the shoulder.

Phantom turned his head in the man's direction in a lightning fast motion that almost made Jack jump back in surprise. Wide, bioluminescent green eyes pinned him where he crouched. Phantom looked as frightened as he felt.

"Da-Jack?"

Phantom did not have to actually ask the question. His tone said it all. _What the hell are you doing here?_

"You wouldn't know where we are, would you?" Jack didn't even know if Phantom was the one that bought him here. All evidence pointed away from that theory, but Jack was not about to let it go entirely.

"Wisconsin, I think." He finally sat up, looking around the clearing. He had a bored look about him though. Jack wondered how long he had actually been awake before he had gotten there.

"Wisconsin?" Jack blurted out before he could stop himself. "How do you know?"

"It looks familiar." Phantom was slowly gaining more uprightness as the moments passed, but he had yet to actually stand.

Jack had a niggling feeling that Phantom could not. The boy kept looking around, the sky, the trees. His green eyes took in everything. His hand came up to rub his chest, right over his DP logo. Jack recalled that that had been where Mr. Wisconsin had nailed him with an ectoblast. "Are you alright?"

"Standard question," he answered automatically, as if asked too many times. "Wait…" He turned his gaze on Jack again, giving him an appraising look, as if prepared for him to sprout an extra head. "What did you just ask me?"

Jack almost laughed. It was strange of him to ask such a question, he reasoned. Usually, he was doing everything in his power to ensure that Phantom was _not_ okay. "I said, are you alright?"

"Um….?" He glared at him, his eyes suspiciously narrowing to slits. There was a long awkward pause before he finally continued. "How much did you see?"

_See of what?_ "I saw that he hit you. Are you alright?" He needed Phantom in proper working order before he could a); get out of the forest, and b); trap him for experiments. "The Wisconsin Ghost got you pretty good."

"Plasmius!" Phantom must have forgotten that he was the last entity capable of transporting them to Wisconsin in a matter of moment. At least that they had seen.

"What did you call him?" Boy, this kid was just a wealth of information. Jack had to remember to interrogate him on everything he knew before he ripped him apart.

"Plasmius, Vlad Plasmius." Phantom moved a little, floating up like a buoy in water. He looked satisfied with himself that he was finally off the ground. "He's like me."

Phantom was looking skyward, noting that the sun was starting to skirt the horizon. It would be dark soon. "What do you mean, _like_ _you_? And what was he doing in Amity Park? And why did he bring us here?"

"I'll tell you later, doing what he usually does, and I don't know."

Jack ignored the less than satisfactory answers he received, for the one that almost answered the question. "What does he usually do?"

"Oh you know. Wrecking havoc, getting power, trying and failing to steal Mom."

"Mom?"

Phantom looked uncomfortable. He floated a little higher so that he was no longer eye level. "Enough twenty questions. It's getting late, we need to set up a place to camp. You wouldn't happen to have a magical belt that held all of the necessary camping equipment, would you?"

That was a little too spot on to not be scary. "I do, but one more question?"

Phantom sighed. "Fine." He floated a little closer, his toxic green eyes expectant.

"The white rings, what were they? You were about to show me something?"

Phantom looked genuinely angry and Jack would have pulled his gun out if he didn't know that it would not end up well for either of them to get into a fight.

"I was, until you pointed a gun at me. I like my molecules not ripped apart, thank you." He floated upward again. "I'm going to scout ahead." And with that he disappeared like fog under the summer sun.

**XXX**

**Hey! Not a cliff hanger this time. Again thanks to SwiftslashxLeafstorm for being a wonderful beta.**


	15. Chapter 15

Darkness spread across the horizon like a lethargic blanket, slowly covering the surrounding mountains and the lake to the north. The air was bitterly cold and would have seeped through the hazmat if Danny was not immune to the temperature.

Jack, however, was not. Danny had tried to get his mind off of his father for the last hour, scanning the horizon for anything. No sign of Vlad, or any of his goons. Just empty forest and the approaching night. Danny scowled and began his decent from the thin air and down into the trees again.

Jack had already built a fire in the ghost's absence. The Fenton fisher had managed to hook a squirrel right out of it's home. Jack grinned as he reeled it in. It good for more than just catching ghosts, he supposed. It would be mighty tasty. Granted, not as good as Maddie's home cooking, but still.

His mind wondered home for a moment. He hoped that Danny was safe. Maddie and Jazz would be home by now, and probably cooking dinner. He wished he could call them tell them he was alright, if in need of a pickup. He glanced skyward with a scowl, nearly identical to his son's.

Of course, Maddie and Jazz had made it home hours ago. Before they had even pulled all the way into the drive, then knew something was amiss. Driving up the street, one glaring detail proceeded to smack them in the face. The front door was wide open, and the signs of a bloody scuffle marking the concrete with blood and ectoplasm.

The mixture of red and green could only be Danny's, but the second splotch was not nearly as large, and was a terrifying human red. Maddie and Jazz exchanged worried glances and ran for the open door. It hung on a cracked hinge, as if someone had bowled it over. Twice, perhaps. Maddie examined it with a trained eye, as Jazz surveyed the damage on the inside of the house.

Papers and magazines were scattered across the living room, as if a hurricane had swept through. The pictures on the walls had either become crooked or had fallen altogether, glass glittered around their bent frames. A scorch mark had blackened the banister, and the wall behind, but left no hole in the plaster. It had to have been an ecto-weapon. Green foam spilled out of Danny's door, covering the hall with bright green ooze.

"Mom!" Jazz called from the hall, staring at the foam with a mixture of confusion and horror. She was desperately trying to piece this puzzle together. The only real option that kept entering her mind, as impossible as it was, was that Jack had attacked Danny. Or something… No, that could not be it. Jack could be an oaf sometimes, but he was not going to attack his son… Unless Danny had not tried to tell him, and it was a misunderstanding. Perhaps Danny had been attacked and had been forced to go ghost. That would explain the scorch mark on the wall, and all the general destruction. What it did not explain was where they had gone, and why the blood. It must have been Jack's blood on the concrete. Who could have taken them? And why?

Maddie had made her way up the stairs to look at the mess in Danny's room. Jazz was afraid to go in there, in case she would find her brother. "They're not down in the lab." Maddie seemed to read her mind.

"Check his room, I'll check yours and mine." She tried to keep her voice from cracking but the fear was starting to creep in. What if something really bad had happened? What if they were hurt really bad and no one was there to help them?

She had to stop in front of her parent's door for a moment. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and put her hand on the door knob. Now was not the time to have a panic-attack, Jazz. She needed to find Danny before she could be hysterical.

She flung the door open with more force than necessary. Only to find it empty. She deflated, half relieved, half disappointed. She turned to her room and did the same. Empty as well. She turned back to see Maddie emerge from Danny's room. She wore a scowl that Jazz knew was probably on her own face. She could not find it in herself to try and wipe it away. In that look, however, her mother conveyed that she had had just as much luck as Jazz.

The house was empty. In the silence that followed their search, Jazz could not help but find that fact so painfully obvious.

Miles away, Danny dreaded the moment exhaustion forced his body to revert to human. Jack was huddled next to the fire, swirling an unfortunate squirrel on a stick. He was as close as possible without being burned, and yet still shivered managed to rack up and down the mammoth of a man. Danny dreaded it not for the secret being blown, but for how cold it was. He knew he was in just his t-shirt and jeans. He could not remember if he was even wearing shoes when the fruitloop attacked.

That all did not seem to matter right at this moment. What mattered was that his stomach clenched angrily at him, demanding it be fed. Flying for several hours without resting could burn through food quickly. The fast metabolism of a ghost. At least Danny did not have to worry about getting fat. It was a pain in moments like this, however, watching Jack cook his dinner, the wondrous smells drifting over to him.

Danny did not dare come closer. He sat in his own huddle just outside the soft glow of the fire, outside of it's warmth radius. The moment he had tried to get closer Jack had growled at him and told him to back off. They were partners in getting out of this damned forest, but they could not rest close to each other. Danny could not really blame the man, he was just trying to protect himself. It still left a sting in Danny's side that would not go away.

Speaking of stings, the wound on his chest was actually managing to bother him. Vlad must have hit him harder than he thought. He probably should take a look at it.

He rose to his feet, ignoring Jack's grunt. The man had been watching out of the corner of his eye since he had first landed, it seemed. The paranoia must have sprouted with the darkness. Danny walked a few paces away, knowing that Jack could probably see his white hair in the moon light as he crossed the clearing to the tree line. Turning intangible, he floated up into the thickest branches.

He knew Jack would not be able to see him, and that would bug the crap out of the man, but Danny was too tired to care, and his ribs were starting to ache as well. Just another thing to add to the list. He rested in the small nest the branches made around him and let his ghost form go in a flash of light. The cold hit him like a swift punch to the gut and he gasped, his breath taken from him. It must have been below freezing, but too dry to snow.

He curled up as tight as possible, knowing that without his white hair and ethereal aura, the shadows would hide him easily. The cold distracted him from the painful throb in his chest, and he was actually grateful. He was exhausted and hungry, but he could ignore the latter for now. He sighed and closed his eyes, shutting out the world but not so naïve as to expect sleep. This was going to be a long night.

**XXX**

_I'm sorry this chapter took so long, guys. My lovely beta hit a brick wall called school. I've gone ahead and uploaded this chapter without her._

_Anyway, I have a new twitter account where I talk about my stories and stuff, and give updates. I'll try to upload this once a week, but I don't have these chapters pre-written like I do most of the time. Twitter will be where I announce if I'm uploading or not. I have a link in my profile. :3_


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